The year of holding hands

By Juliet Mwangi.
Failing does not necessarily mean you are a failure and it’s never too late to start over. The first Writers Ekklesia meeting held on Friday the 11th of January proved this. Members of the Writers Guild Kenya reviewed their past year while sharing cookies at the Kenya National Museum Library. This year, the overriding theme will be; ‘Holding hands’ This will provide individual writers with a chance to help each other grow through holding each other’s hands.
For most of them, 2018 was an interesting journey with both its highs and lows. Moreover, they somehow came up with the following tips to survive 2019

1. Consistency
To succeed in anything, one needs to be consistent. Be it delivering to your clients, saving finances, finishing your manuscript or being there for a friend. Consistency is the key we were not taught in school.

2. Make mistakes
Not deliberately, no. You are not perfect, far from it. But give yourself time to make mistakes then learn from them. Mistakes do not make you a fool, repeating them does. If anything, they help you grow in every aspect of life. Growth is good for this year.

3. Reward yourself
Apart from your year resolutions, set short-term targets you would like to achieve. Challenge yourself, work hard and smart to ensure you achieve them. Once you do, reward yourself. Pat yourself on the back, buy yourself a drink or a good book. You deserve it! This will encourage you achieve the long-term goals you set.

4. Allow yourself to be critiqued
Whatever your career path is, there are experts in it. Those who have been there longer than you; who know the perks of being in it. Meet them. Share your work and ideas with them. Let them critique you, correct you and help you become better. We can only go the next step after growing on the last one.

5. Work with a dream team.
You know those around you; friends, family, colleagues. Those who share similar goals, beliefs and dreams with you. Create a dream team that will be working towards the best you all can. Get involved in team building activities, volunteer together and bring each other up when necessary. Team work makes the dream work.

6. A little fun never hurt anybody!
Create time for fun. You need this. All work and no play… Amidst all the hustle, hard work and late meetings, get a few days off. A weekend to travel, to rest, to spend with family and just to relax. Relaxation has proved to bring forth a lot of success.
To have a great year, you just need to follow these six tips. Enjoy the rest of the year ahead and see you at Writers Ekklesia every Friday.

Juliet Mwangi is an Editor at Writers Guild Kenya. She blogs at- https://julietshiku.wordpress.com/

Email-write@writersguild.co.ke